Opponent Watch: Orange You Glad We’re Not Playing In This Hurricane?

Each week in this space, we examine two things: Notre Dame’s strength of schedule (from USA Today‘s Sagarin rankings), and who Irish opponents are facing. For those of who want to scout future opponents, I’ll give you my recommendation for who to watch when you’re not watching Notre Dame Football.

Who To Watch

Syracuse vs Florida State (Sat 12:00 PM ET, ESPN)

The surprisingly-saucy Oranges claim the spotlight this week for an early Saturday game with Florida State. FSU has struggled thus far in 2018, playing uninspired in their debut vs Virginia Tech and trailing late in last week’s tussle with Samford. On the opposite sideline, Syracuse QB Eric Dungey has emerged as a significant dual threat (albeit against inferior competition), which should test the Seminoles. Dungey has been an offensive juggernaut so far this year, leading the team through the air (173.2 QB Rating) and on the ground (averaging 9.4 yards per rushing attempt).

Also this Week

Other Upcoming Opponents

Wake Forest vs Boston College (Thu 5:30 PM ET, ESPN)

Pittsburgh vs Georgia Tech (Sat 12:30 PM ET, ACC Network)

Stanford vs UC Davis (Sat 2:00 PM ET, Pac-12 Network)

Navy vs Lehigh (Sat 3:30 PM ET, CBS Sports Network)

Northwestern vs Akron (Sat 7:30 PM ET, Big Ten Network)

Southern Cal at Texas (Sat 8:00 PM ET, Fox)

Virginia Tech (cancelled)

Past Opponents

Ball State at Indiana (Sat 12:00 PM ET, Big Ten Network)

Michigan vs Southern Methodist (Sat 3:30 PM ET, Big Ten Network)

Strength-of-Schedule Rankings

Last week, ND opponents went 8-4. On the year, opponents have a combined record of 17-7 (70.8%) with an average schedule strength of 83.